Japan on regent

[stocktracker]

Another look at most of my empire. The southeast part is the only place I can get trade or production.

Finally to the next age!

Well, I am spending a quarter of my budget into science. But I also losing 20 gold per turn. That is what that surplus is for.

We sell a right of passage with the Ottomans for 76 gold. That's a fairly decent amount of money.

This trade looks good as well...

I found the Arabs because they built one of their colonies by my boat.

Talking with the Arabs, they only have four cities and are still in the ancient age. They are about as weak as the Zulus when I took them over.

I can live without Monarchy.

This looks good. Hopefully they will survive the next 20 turns so I can get my full payment. I know the Ottomans already have it, so why not make some money on it.

Meanwhile, I am getting a foothold on the island.

I now control 40% of the world's land. That is going to be harder to guard later in the game.

The next update is very exciting. Many world events are going on, and we are stuck dealing with most of it.

 

[Bobv13]

This is an interesting story. I am also playing a game having chose Japan. It’s difficult for me to keep up in techs through research so I’ve adopted the warmonger strategy of concurring other Civs for it. Your game is more balanced. I’ll be waiting to hear more

 

[Mirc]

What do you mean by: I'm spending a quarter of my money into science but I'm also losing 20 gpt. This isn't possible unless you pay a lot of money to other civs.

 

[stocktracker]

What do you mean by: I'm spending a quarter of my money into science but I'm also losing 20 gpt. This isn't possible unless you pay a lot of money to other civs.

Yes, corruption can be that bad, considering my cities close to the capital are not very big. They are making settlers for more colonization.

We are exploring the land of the Ottoman empire.

Next, we find the Mayans. That now means I have found everyone. I don't know it the Mayans and the Ottomans have met.

This is more of a suprising event, the Ottomans have declared war on me. They only know the location of those two colony cities, so I can't lose much.

Rushing to defend the cities!

Set up an embassy with the Mayans, they have built a lot of their unique unit.

Got good things out of Theology. I may have a reason to keep them alive for a while.

Back to the war front, I am on the defensive. I really don't want to waste much money on this. When they get bored I will sign a peace treaty and try to get something out if it.

On the victory screen, notice that we are currently only 3 points ahead of the Mayans in terms of culture. Their culture is growing at a faster pace than ours. This may be something to keep in mind for later.

Yes, we did lose Omi for a period of time, but now we can get it back for free.

Hey, didn't I make this deal once before?

Anyway, I need to play again soon because I am running out of pictures! If you have any suggestions, just post them.

 

[stocktracker]

I am still finding more islands. Hopefully the computer hasn't found any big ones to colonize.

Still, we are very powerful.

Now we are starting to colonize them.

The economy is in very bad shape, and I have some new ways to improve it.

1. Merge settlers into cities close to the capital.

2. Get more specialized citizens in cities in high corruption.

Cities near the capital are getting more trade because they are larger.

Corruption has not been reduced, but we have found new sources of income.

I am getting advances in ten turns, that's much better that twenty.

Maybe my better ecomony will help me build a bigger military.

 

[stocktracker]

I got a good military tech and some money out of this.

I got some money out of the Arabians, I need to help them stay strong to compete with the Ottomans.

The colonies are almost filled up.

The Mayans get the Knights Templar wonder. Don't want to attack them anytime soon.

And another wonder the computer doesn't need...

More trading with the Mayans, we want to stay at peace with them.

That island is full!

Hey, a threat. I will give in, due to the fact we can not survive an attack right now.

More techs coming along.

I'm still making progress...

Next time the trading of maps will reveal the whole world to us!

 

[conquer_dude]

Awesomeness story! So many pics, it's great!

 

[stocktracker]

Hopefully the power stays on long enough for this update. It was out for 2 hours for the fact we got 6 inches of snow.

I want the core cities to grow, so I can get more trade and support more military units out of them.

You can see two of the cities building Aqueducts.

The Victory Status screen. Most likely, I'll win by domination. Also note that I am halfway there to 2050.

A look of my entire nation of the north.

The West.

and East.

A look at their lands.

A look at my tech tree. I will soon be in the industrial age.

A world map is bought, I have a image of their land ready for the next update.

Is this a joke? I didn't know he lacked those resources.

Again, I am getting sick of those Ottomans, I'm not going to let them slide for much longer.

 

[stocktracker]

It does look like a good idea to trade with the Arabians since they are behind.

A look at Mayan lands. They have 7 cities on their mainland, and one on that island.

I need to befriend the Mayans, but I am getting something out of this deal.

Don't look too bad.

A look at the Ottoman and Arabian empires. The Ottomans have 9 cities compared to Arabia, which has 4.

I wouldn't mind to have that wonder!

The Forbidden Palace is completed in Zimbabwe. I get about a 30 gold per turn increase after this.

Corrpution is not hindering the economy anymore.

The Mayans scoop up another two wonders. At this rate, If I don't get moving, I'll lose by culture!

Next time - Getting back at the Ottomans.

 

[stocktracker]

The AI is about done clearing out the wonders for this era.

Hey, I wanted that wonder! Kyoto's production has been switched to Magellan's Voyage.

Military units are moving to the colonies to start a war with the Ottomans.

A Scientific Leader is created! I will use it to increase science production because all of the good wonders are taken and the Forbidden Palace is complete.

Moving on to the industrial age...

I'm ready for war!

First of all, I need to take this city they built by me, it won't be that hard.

In a few turns, we take those two cities.

One more city and I'll be done.

I don't think I want to reattack the Ottomans in 20 turns...

Next time - another war that may lead to my demise...

 

[Mr David]

Just so you know...
You wasted the SGL. It has been proven that the "boost science" option does nothing to research. It may say that a turn or two has been shaved off, but when there is supposedly "1 turn" left to research, it will say 1 turn left for two turns.

But nonetheless, great story! I love the image support for everything.

Now hurry up and get to some more

 

[madviking]

Mr David is right...

Great story man!

 

[conquer_dude]

Still, it's great!

 

[stocktracker]

Just so you know...
You wasted the SGL. It has been proven that the "boost science" option does nothing to research. It may say that a turn or two has been shaved off, but when there is supposedly "1 turn" left to research, it will say 1 turn left for two turns.

Thanks, I won't make that mistake again. I felt it made little difference either way this game.



I think I can get to a domination victory if I can get some more cities.

Current score. I'm still over the other three civilizations combined.

This is going to hinder my progess. Looks like the Arabians will be my prey now.

A ton of units pile to get Damascus.

Population is still going up, which is a good thing.

Two cities were taken over, one being Damascus and another one is a colony that is off their main island.

A look at shattered Arabia.

The Ottomans are building up their defences.

Hooray, a free wonder that will become mine.

A look of boats coming out and the Ottomans looking around at my empire. I still have not given anyone my world map, for safety reasons of course.

Well, I got a few more wars in store for the last 150 turns.

 

[Mirc]

The AI knows the entire map anyway.

Why you attacked Arabia with Rifleman?

 

[stocktracker]

Why you attacked Arabia with Rifleman?

I also needed a good defense unit to stay in the city once it was captured. I did not know if the Ottomans were going to declare war on me.



Starting the war back up with Arabia again, I think I have enough units to clear him out.

I finally got my free wonder with the capture of Mecca. Also note that I now have infantry to attack with.

A few turns later, we get their last city.

Now with only 2 civs left, foreign matters should get less confusing.

A look at my holdings in former Arabia.

Only a small amount to go to win by domination. The culture gap between me and the Mayans is also closing.

This throws off my plans.

Need to get some money out of the Mayans to build up for war.

My population percent needs to go up faster than that!

A look at the MPP.

Next time - it could be the final war or it could be a money draining conflict between me and the MPP protected Ottomans and Mayans.

 

[stocktracker]

A small update. (The internet is slow.)

In order to get the military ready, units are rushed.

That's bad, the Ottomans are moving units into my territory by the dozens. And they have a MPP with the Mayans.

To counter this problem, I will sign a MPP with the Mayans. Once the Ottomans attack me, the Mayans will go after them instead of me.

It seemed to work well.

A look at the mess crawling on the battlefield.

I got another city, I don't know if that is enough to win by domination. I don't want to suffer a counterattack. All of the cities are well defended. However, I just can't take over another one.

The Mayans have also built a new city on one of their controlled islands.

 

[stocktracker]

I have now managed to hit the 66% mark on both population and land. The game isn't over yet, I have to hold it for one turn.

Finally, I win by a Domination Victory. It took me under 6 hours.

Cities and Demographics. Also note I do not have one city on the top five, and on any demographic, I am either first or last.

I have been a superpower for a long time, I did not manage it very well in the beginning.

My score has advanced rapidly along the game.

Compared to other nations, culture was making a comeback.

I got more than half way up the score board.

Here is just a look at my palace. I did not show it the entire game, but it looks nice!

Final game save.

View attachment 107092

Other Comments -

I am not good with managing corruption, but I did get better at watching and micromanaging it. I know I could have won probably around 1600 AD, but again, I took my time and try not to take any stupid risks. For most viewers of this game, they knew I could easily win by controling 60% of the world's land. I tried to make the game seem like someone could come on to one of my islands and completely take it over, and it could have happened. But it did not, and there were some close calls. The start position was not the best, but it was a definite plus to get those two civs out of the way early so I could rapidly expand. If they were scattered, I would have shot for another victory.

This game was played out from December 3, 2005 to December 8, 2005.

If you pointed out any mistakes in my game, please tell me.

I've set up a new challenge, use the same settings, and play on Pangea. I can't poorly defend my cities if everyone can get to them. It will open a new challenge for me. I will post it here, and I already have a few turns completed.

 

[Own]

Congrats! Great finish .

 

[stocktracker]

I have started a new game as Japan on regent. The only difference is that I am playing on a Pangea map, so almost all the civs are on the same landmass.

Starting location, notice that I am towards the bottom of the map.

I move my settler toward the water.

I got spices, that's one luxury resource.

I found grapes and horses as well, this it starting to be a good game!

That is bad, I could be stuck on an island. I did find some ivory, making 3 luxury resources.

We have found someone! The bad thing is that they are in my way.

China is blue, so I determine that it is them.

China and their crazy deals. Not going to bother with this.

This is shaping up like the previous game, war is easy because I only have one front to fight on. Also, the Chinese seem to cause problems if they survive in to the Industrial or Modern age. They have ruined some of my other games. It would be nice to get them earlier.

And the first game save!

View attachment 107127

If you want any screenshots from the previous game I played just ask. I have enough save files to do it!